


Mother's Love

by meladromatic



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, Molly is nosy, Nott and Molly have a talk, Nott is the mom friend we all aspire to be
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 05:41:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15790098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meladromatic/pseuds/meladromatic
Summary: He wasn’t quite a simple investment anymore- she regretfully admitted that to herself when she had first called himherboy. She blamed it on her selfish little goblin heart- her need to keep things and possess things. Maybe this one wasn’t quite a bauble or a trinket, but his shining eyes, his kind smile, his praise, his little moments of real joy- those seemedmuchshinier than anything Nott had ever stolen and those she itched for more thananycane or necklace.





	Mother's Love

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know when I wrote this, it's been sitting around for so long, just constantly being edited. I must have wrote this around episode 13? I'm not sure. Either way, enjoy!
> 
> Edit: This was written well before episode 48, which left me a broken husk of a man

                                                                       

 

     “Care to know your fortune?” The purple menace asked, throwing a sideways glance at Nott while he shuffled his cards, feet propped up on the rickety pub table. Nott could just barely hear him through the din of the rowdy bar, though she wished she hadn’t.

     “No!” She barked with a snaggletooth grimace, “You’re just going to take my money!”

     Mollymauk- in all his easygoing nature- brushed off the accusation with an amiable shrug, “Free readings for friends,” He suddenly pulled his feet off the table, chair tipping back into place with a _thud_ as he leaned in close, “ _And we are friends, aren’t we?_ ”

     Nott instinctively leaned away, eyeing him distrustfully. She didn’t really want to know her fortune- she was sure it was a load of bullshit anyway. Molly was like that- all talk.

     But damned if she wasn’t intrigued when he shuffled those cards.

     The little cards weren’t shiny _per se_. They were simple little tarot cards with their decorative purple backings, but they had _gold leaf_ on them and sometimes the way it caught in the torchlight when he shuffled them so carelessly made her _itch_.

     He seemed to have already taken her silence as agreement anyway.

     Shuffling through his cards a bit, he fanned them out and offered them to her, face down. “Pick three.”

     Nott squinted, pushing herself up to _really_ look Molly in the eye. He only seemed amused as he squinted right back at her. Their standoff was brief before Nott could no longer resist the temptation of touching one of those _shiny_ gold leafed cards so she snatched three with her sticky little fingers and held them close to her face, glaring at the pictures she couldn’t understand.

     Molly laughed at her, but it wasn’t unkind. Her cageyness was endearing in a way. 

     “Well?” He asked, gesturing to the table. She gave him a side-eyed glance, but begrudgingly laid them down, face up in front of her.

     “What does all this mean?” Nott demanded, “What are those pictures for, huh?”

     “Well- it-“

     “It’s just pictures! You don’t _know_ me!” She declared, crossing her arms.

     Out of the corner of her eye Nott caught Fjord having a little giggle at her outburst so she gave him an especially pointed glare until he finally hid behind a tankard of ale, sheepishly returning his attention back to Jester’s musings. Nott was sure _that_ was much more interesting.

     Molly brought her attention back to the cards, pulling them towards himself before sliding the first between them for her to look at. She nearly had to crawl up onto the table to get a better look.

     “What is it?” Nott asked, focusing intently on the card as if she could somehow decipher it given enough time. There was what appeared to be a lion on it along with a lot of other little symbols she couldn’t care to make sense of.

     “That one,” Mollymauk pressed a long purple finger to the card, “is _Strength_.” He leaned back a little, observing the goblin. “It means you have strength.”

     Nott raised her eyebrows at that, flexing her scrawny green arms. Molly chuckled.

     “Maybe not in a literal sense, but…you have a good heart. You’re… _compassionate_. You may not have Yasha’s rippling biceps, but you’ve got a lot of love and kindness in that little goblin heart of yours. That in its own way is a kind of strength.”

     Nott wasn’t sure if she should be offended by that, but she was flattered nonetheless. She may have even turned a shade greener.

     Nott nodded, waiting for him to continue. Molly slapped the card back into the deck and brought forth the second one.

     “Two people?” Nott tilted her head.

     “The _Lovers!_ ” Molly’s voice held a sort of amusement.

     Nott’s face scrunched up like she had smelled something bad, “I ain’t lookin’ for a _relationship_.”

     “Eh, it’s not inherently _romantic_. It just means you have a…partnership with someone. A union.” Molly snorted, tossing the card back into the pile. “I’m sure you’ve been in a sort of partnership for a while now.”

     “What do you mean, _circus man?_ ” Nott groused.

     “Well…you and Caleb over there are close, I assume.” Molly gestured over to the dirty wizard who was pouring over his newest book, absentmindedly petting the orange tabby that had draped itself over his shoulders, “Never seen you without him nearby. What are you two anyway, business partners? Traveling companions?”

     Nott crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair and regarding him coldly, “Sure, yeah. We’re close.” was all she offered. For once Molly didn’t push his luck.

     He let that one go, satisfied for the time being, and laid the third and final card between them. This one had a lady on it. Molly looked at the card almost incredulously.

     “What- what does _that_ mean? What’s with the face?” Nott drummed her claws against the table impatiently, once again getting up from her seat to get a better look.

     “This here’s The Empress. It’s uh…” He rubbed his face a bit, before shrugging, “It could mean a few things- motherhood, fertility, dependence.” He tapped his chin a bit, watching the goblin fall back to squirm in her seat uncomfortably. He looked at her expectantly, but she didn’t speak- eyes locked on the card.

     “Are you a mother, Nott?” The question was asked with such care it caught her off guard. She never would have guessed Mollymauk Tealeaf of all people would try to be _considerate_ towards her. She didn’t know what she resented more- the question or his tone.

     “No!” Nott said reflexively- defensively. She had never dreamed of being confronted with such a question and scrambled to be more casual. This was _Molly_ after all- who knew what he would hold over her head. “No, no.” She waved a hand dismissively, “I n-never…no.” Nott sighed.

     The question felt like an arrow straight to the chest, that was for sure. It may not have been one she had ever expected to hear, but it was one that she had asked herself before.

     Nott risked a glance over at Caleb, hopeful the carnie wasn’t too keen on following her gaze.

     She and Caleb were close. There was no doubt about it. She had so much staked in him of course she was protective and maybe even a little clingy. And that might have been what it was at _first_ , but looking back now it seemed a lifetime ago.

     He wasn’t quite a simple investment anymore- she regretfully admitted that to herself when she had first called him _her_ boy. She blamed it on her selfish little goblin heart- her need to keep things and possess things. Maybe this one wasn’t quite a bauble or a trinket, but his shining eyes, his kind smile, his praise, his little moments of real joy- those seemed _much_ shinier than anything Nott had ever stolen and those she itched for more than _any_ cane or necklace. She had heard of love, but didn’t really know what it felt like when placed in something living and breathing. She _liked_ people, she herself was an especially amiable goblin after all- anyone who gave her a bit of liquor could quickly earn her _liking_.

     She never said it out loud, but she must have shown it in some ways. She _loved_ Caleb all the way down to her bones, which was certainly unheard of for a goblin.

     He had never shied from her claws and teeth, he had never thrown rocks at her or called her mean names, he had taught her _magic_ and _protected_ her. She had no idea why, but she had some kind of value to him- the idea made her ears go dark green- he thought she was valuable! She had never been valuable before.

     She loved him. She loved him so much. She wanted to keep him safe and she wanted to see him flourish and thrive. She wanted him to be happy. He was _her_ boy and she would willingly discard every collection of trinkets she had acquired if it meant he could achieve his goals.

     Nott had never known her mother and didn’t have any children of her own back at the Clan. She loved children, though- only partly because they were easy to steal from. She didn’t know if she had ever wanted to be a mother at any point in her life. It certainly wasn’t something a goblin aspired to be and Nott had never been one thing for too long- soldier, seamstress, cook, torturer, informant, traitor, thief- the list was a long and shameful one.

     As unusual or wrong as it may seem some part of her did want to be a mother. If a mother’s job was to care for and protect a child under her care then she must already be one.

     Such shameful, gooey thoughts almost made Nott consider abandoning her dreams of a future that promised more than just _her_ \- as much as solitude was safety she wanted to be part of a _them_.

     Embarrassment burned bright on her face, but was trampled by her goblin nature that craved a kind of selfishness. She wanted to keep him and have him like she did any other shiny thing she encountered. That mantra of _my_ boy, _my_ Caleb was stronger than her shame. Goblins were greedy things and Nott herself was no exception.

     Caleb was more than an investment- an opportunity to be changed- he was _hers_. And she was his if he would have her.

     “No. I’m not a mother.” Nott rasped, prying her eyes away from her boy to glower at the table, “Not really.”- slipped out as an afterthought, unwarranted and unexpected. At least she had the mind to clamp her mouth shut before she could say anything else.

     “Not really.” Mollymauk echoed in surprise, “So you’re _Nott_ a mom, then?”

     The goblin fought back a smile, “There’s no comma, mind you.”

     Molly smiled and added the last card to the deck before he shuffled them all together quite theatrically. “Alright. That’s a comma for another day, then.” He winked and shoved the cards into a little pocket in his coat and Nott took a second to mourn the loss of a good steal.

     Molly stood from his place at their table, reaching over to tousle Nott’s already wild hair. She cringed, but dealt with it.

     “I’m gonna have another drink!” He leaned towards her with a stage whisper, “And don’t worry, darling, your secret’s safe with me.”

     Straightening once more, he stalked off towards the bar, calling over his shoulder, “No need to kill me in my sleep!”

     Nott huffed in annoyance, pulling her legs up onto her chair and praying Molly would get too drunk to remember this in the morning.

     Otherwise she might actually have to kill him.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly Nott and Caleb's relationship is my favorite thing in Critical Role. In the beginning when most of the characters were wary of each other Nott and Caleb were already like family which really drew me to them. I hope they get to be happy in the end, they deserve it.
> 
> Also rest in peace Molly, you were really cool. Don't worry, Caduceus is taking care of them all now.


End file.
